Week Twelve Midweek Musings
It’s one of the best weeks of the year for fans of food and college football- two groups that overlap quite a bit. Welcome to Week Twelve Midweek Musings.
Ohio State-Indiana
This game featured one of the most lopsided stat lines we’ve seen. Indiana threw for 491 yards and ran for a negative one yard. At the same time, Ohio State threw for 300 and rushed for 307, which may be the most balanced offensive outings.
While we’re on the topic of ridiculous stats, here’s another one: through the Buckeyes’ first four games, quarterback Justin Fields had thrown 11 touchdowns. He had also thrown 11 incompletions.
Oregon-UCLA
Oregon came away with the three-point victory thanks primarily to its robust passing attack. UCLA did an excellent job shutting down the Ducks’ run game, which mustered just 88 yards. The defense came away with two interceptions and recovered two fumbles, but they also allowed 35 points. We have full coverage of the game here.
LSU-Arkansas
Despite watching this game, we aren’t sure how it ended up being as close as it did. Arkansas possessed the ball for 18:17- less than a third of the game!- and went zero-for-10 on third down. It’s pretty rare that a team fails to convert a single third down in an entire game.
The Razorbacks had a chance to tie the game with 1:24 left, but the field goal try was blocked.
Penn State
It just keeps getting worse for the Nittany Lions. Their loss to Iowa gives them the first 0-5 record in team history, and now tight end Pat Freiermuth is out for the season with an undisclosed injury. Remember, their top two running backs were already out, and linebacker Micah Parsons opted out ahead of the season.
Bedlam
If you had sad a month ago that Oklahoma would dominate this game as thoroughly as they did, many probably wouldn’t have listened. Oklahoma State looked strong out of the gate, but in its last three games the Cowboys lost a close one to Texas, barely beaten Kansas State, and now been stomped 41-13 by the Sooners. On the bright side, the Cowboys’ final three opponents are Texas Tech, TCU, and Baylor. They should be able to finish more as they started.
Unfortunately, Yahoo is reporting an Oklahoma State equipment manager was assaulted by Oklahoma fans during the game.
Florida State-Clemson
This kerfuffle is one of the stupidest stories in college football this season. Clemson had an asymptomatic player around the team and practicing because he tested negative. He traveled with the team. Saturday morning the player tested positive, but Clemson claimed he was isolated during travel and they want to play. Ultimately, the team doctors decided not to play the game.
Schedule Changes:
Southern Miss @ UAB: Canceled
San Diego State @ Fresno State: Canceled
Minnesota @ Wisconsin: Canceled
Tulsa @ Houston: Postponed
Louisiana Tech @ FIU: Canceled
Washington-Washington State and Arizona State-Utah: Now Utah @ Washington, 10:30 pm EST on Saturday
Those are my Week Twelve Midweek Musings. Enjoy the turkey and the football everyone!